SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald has said her party will “dust ourselves off” after it failed to reach its electoral ambitions in the recent local and European elections.

McDonald said Sinn Fein got “a knock” after the party put in a poor performance earlier this month.

Sinn Fein, who was widely seen as the government in waiting, suffered a major setback when its support dropped well below what was projected.

McDonald said the party has started a review into what went wrong in its electoral campaign, particularly as parties prepare for a general election which could take place later this year.

“We know political struggle isn’t easy. Things don’t always go the way you want,” McDonald told the annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in Co Kildare.

“This is a party built on incredible sacrifice and on that enormous reservoir of courage, resilience and hope that sees us through the tough times.

“We had a knock at the recent local elections.

“The result didn’t match the scale of our ambitions. But it’s how we respond to setbacks that determines the future.

“We will come back now with determination and belief.

“We’re often at our best when our backs are to the wall, when the going gets tough and when our political opponents write us off with glee. Let them.

“The match is not over. The story is not finished.

“They’ve not reckoned with our strength, our resilience, our togetherness.

“Hundreds of thousands of people across Ireland vote for Sinn Fein.

“They believe in us, they have put their faith in us, they want us to stand up for their rights, for their future, for a better, fairer Ireland.

“We cannot and we will not let them down. Our job now is to dust ourselves off, to go back out and deliver for those who know that change is possible.”

She said that the Irish public have a choice at the next general election.

“More crises, more failure, more of the same under Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, or a government for real change led by Sinn Fein,” she added.

“We will approach this election with real purpose, confidence and energy.

“My message to people is simple. Sinn Fein has heard you. I have heard you.

“We will now work even harder to deliver the Ireland you deserve – a society and a nation that has the backs of ordinary people.

“The next opportunity to advance our vision of a new Ireland is happening now.”